Russia’s Finance Ministry is considering legalizing online casinos under the same framework as bookmakers

Russia’s Ministry of Finance is weighing whether to legalize online casinos and regulate them on the same model it already uses for bookmakers, according to Deputy Finance Minister Ivan Chebeskov. For high-risk payment providers, the detail that matters is not the political theatre: if this moves forward, it points to a formalized payment flow, centralized betting controls, and a tax structure the state may try to hardwire into the rails.

1. Chebeskov said at the Verona Eurasian Economic Forum that the ministry is studying the legalization of online casinos, noting that many countries already legalize and regulate them. “Just as we regulate bookmakers, we are now studying all these options,” he said, according to TASS.
2. The Ministry of Finance has proposed that gaming platforms accept bets through the Unified Center for Accounting of Betting Transfers, in line with the mechanism already used for bookmakers. For PSPs and acquirers, that is the part to watch: the state appears to be thinking in terms of a controlled settlement channel rather than an open-ended market.
3. Finance Minister Anton Siluanov has estimated that legalization could bring about 100 billion rubles a year into Russia’s budget. That gives the proposal a fiscal rather than merely regulatory rationale, which usually means the discussion does not stay theoretical for long.
4. The ministry is also considering a monthly tax of at least 30% of revenue. If that number survives contact with drafting, it will shape merchant economics as much as licensing will.

For payment companies serving betting and adjacent high-risk verticals, the practical question is whether Russia ends up with a bookmaker-style framework for online casinos or a more restrictive structure with state-controlled acceptance and high tax pressure. The source text points to the former as the model under review, not yet the outcome.